Chapter 268: Dark Alliance

Somewhere else in Tanavol...within the realm of Death...

Exo-General Jack had already given his report to Axiom while under attack from Eris. 

Luckily, Axiom's sword, Hatred, had manually repaired itself after nearly being destroyed.

Axiom was still fairly traumatized by the ferocious monster they had encountered mere hours ago. Regardless, he had already taken command of the situation and ordered Valtheim to request backup.

As he waited on her, he surveyed his surroundings...

Currently, he was inside of a great castle shaped like a crashed pirate ship. It sat within the Death realm in a black lagoon somewhere in the bone wastes.

Outside, Jack could see the strange sky...

The center of the sky was dominated by a massive swirling vortex of energy that came down in the middle of the realm. There was a single ethereal thread coming down from the sky to the middle of the realm. The location of Lich-Fire Citadel and Tanavol's well of souls.

All around the vortex, the sky was a deep gray. And so was the ground...

Menacing rock formations could be seen everywhere. The ground looked like a vast desert of gray sand and dust. Gigantic skeletal monsters sat motionless within the rock formations and partially exposed from the ground.

Lastly, armored skeletons roamed around on patrols. Many of them stood at the edge of the lagoon, waiting for any sign of movement.

Jack scowled at them underneath his mask. They had been bothering them nonstop since the group arrived here.

And no matter how many they killed, infinitely more would arrive in their place.

Despite this, they had been told by undead envoys that this response was docile only because their resident Avatar had not been seen in hundreds of years.

The Demon King left them alive as to not cause more of their armies to invade.

And because of another problem...

The lack of an Avatar in this realm meant that something else was protecting it. Something referring to itself as the Warden. While the Warden was around, it would send undead golems called Sentinels to prevent the progress of the Demon King's and the Corruption's forces. They were basically trapped in the castle ship...

The inside of it wasn't so bad, however. It was luxurious with dark tile floors and navy blue walls. The carpets were the same color as the walls, but lined with gold. 

All along the halls, various sea-themed decorations hung on display.

Treasure chests filled with actual gold, anchors, fish skeletons, and the like.

It was perfect for the particular King that ruled here.

But as Jack thought about this, Valtheim appeared next to him.

"Who did you bring, lady Valtheim?" Jack asked.

"General...Valak... Old ally...of yours..." Valtheim said.

"Finally. Someone competent..." 

An eye opened next to Valtheim, and another masked General walked out of it. He bowed his head, then saluted.

Jack returned the salute and sighed.

"Working together again. Just like old times, eh...?" Jack said.

"I guess, man... I just wish we didn't have to make enemies out of them..." Valak said.

He didn't seem to be in any mood to joke around. Surely, he had been made aware of the current situation.

Mizik Iratus, the Destroyer of worlds, had arrived on Tanavol for some reason. Jack was still confused as to how he had learned of the Corruption's presence. Part of the reason Exo-Generals were deployed was that they could hide the presence of Corruption.

If Mizik could still find them despite that, it meant only one thing...

His power had grown to such an extent that he could now threaten Lord Difar.

It had to be that he detected them...otherwise, why would he be here?

The Avatars...the protecters of this world, were monsters. Beings that could challenge Lord Difar.

It meant that the Generals had to act quickly on their mission. 

"Valtheim, is that all?" Jack asked.

"No... I bring...Kelvastiol..." She said.

"How is she going to help us? She went down to Mizik back on Ignitus. He would squash her like an insect at this point!" Jack said.

"If only you knew..." Valak said.

"What do you mean?"

"Kelvastiol...evolved... Stronger... I will...bring later..." Valtheim said.

"It's about time..." Jack said.

"Hey lady Valtheim, what's Mizik's...er...the Destroyer's currant position?" Valak asked.

"Peace realm... Has not...changed... Cannot see... I will leave..." 

Valtheim disappeared after that.

"Haaaa...she's still so damn scary..." Valak said.

"That won't ever change. Now then...I should probably help you get acquainted with our new ally," Jack said.

"Who is that, again? Valtheim said he was a demon or something..."

"He's an aquatic Demon King, actually. He set up shop here in the Death realm for some reason. I don't know why he hasn't left by now... His army of fish demons are useless against an infinite army of undead, but he thinks he still has a chance. Even though...well... The Warden..."

"Just another useful idiot as far as I'm concerned. Anyway...we should report to fish-face... And maybe that bastard Axiom should know I'm here, too..."

"All in due time, Valak. Let's go..." Jack said.

The two of them made their way to the throne room where they saw Axiom throwing a tantrum at his loss to Eris. Nearby, the Demon King sat on his throne, watching with great interest.

He was a muscular humanoid with greenish skin. His dark green hair was long and appeared wet. His eyes gleamed with a deep blue, and he wore a pirate captain's outfit and had a smile on his face, showing his shark-like teeth.

In his hand, he held a black trident.

This man was the Demon King of the Depths, Nautilankt. The Lord of the seas and captain of the castle ship: The Kraken.

"THAT BITCH!!! HOW DARE SHE MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME!!!!" Axiom screamed.

"AHHHHKEKEKEKEKE!!!! YOU GOT YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU BY ERIS! ISN'T THAT TO BE EXPECTED!?" Nautilankt laughed.

"SHUT UP, YOU DAMN FISH DEMON!!! YOU COULD AT LEAST TRY TO HELP US OUT!!!" Axiom roared.

"AGAINST ERIS!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW STRONG A REGULAR AVATAR IS!? SHE'S GREATER THAN THEM!!!" Nautilankt yelled back.

Axiom seemed absolutely livid. His mask wasn't on, so Jack and Valak could see his face. He looked ready to attack Nautilankt.

But just before he could reach for his sword, Jack approached.

"Axiom! We have backup on the way!" Jack said.

Axiom looked at him and saw Valak.

"Oh, another Exo-General? That won't be enough..." he said.

"Valtheim plans to send Kelvastiol. Apparently she's evolved somehow."

"Ah, I'm aware of her new form. She'll be invaluable to us."

"Good. Anyway...where is Naomi?" 

Naomi was the name of the fourth Exo-General. Like the other three, she wielded one of the Corrupted Deus Arms.

"Right here!" A female voice said.

She walked out from behind a curtain.

Her uniform was a tad different from the traditional outfit. Her collar was cut low to show off her cleavage and one side of her robe had been cut out to expose her thigh.

She still had to wear the hood and mask, however. Lord Difar would only allow her to show off so much...

"Ah. Another member of the freakshow..." Nautilankt said.

"You're one to talk, fish-face. Like wow. You're way uglier in person!" Valak said.

"Bastard Exo-General..." Nautilankt growled.

"Valak isn't so bad, really. Kind of handsome underneath that mask..." Naomi said.

"Can the lying bitch shut her mouth? I think we've all heard enough of your flattery and bullshit by now," Valak said.

"You ugly pile of garbage! How dare you speak to me like that!" Naomi shouted.

"And her real feelings come out. How expected..." Valak said.

"Can you lot please shut up? Jack, why are you here?" Axiom said 

"Like I said, we have backup on the way. Valak is just part of it. When Kel gets here, we can try to deal with you-know-who and his crew," Jack said.

"Valtheim told me he was here... Man, I was really hoping to not have to fight that guy..." Valak said.

"Oooh? Well I, for one, can't wait to choke the life out of him. Once I get my hands around his throat, I'll squeeze until he stops breathing!" Naomi said.

Valak laughed.

"You really have no idea what he's capable of, do you? Did ya miss the briefing or somethin', sweetie?" He said mockingly.

"Ugh...so annoying... I know what he's capable of by now..." Naomi said. 

"Then keep your dick-eating mouth closed. You have no chance of stopping that guy on your own," Valak said.

Naomi grumbled went over and leaned against a wall.

"So what are our orders? I mean, Lord Difar didn't say to infect this world, did he?" Valak said.

"No. He wants the Avatar Eyes and the Elder Core. Infecting Tanavol would take an obscene amount of time that we don't have because the Destroyer is out for blood. Unfortunately, the Elder Core is also located in the central realm. The barrier surrounding it is full of creation magic..." Jack said.

"Which means..."

"Valtheim can't touch it without help. On that subject, the realms are surrounded by energy barriers consisting of their own type of magic. These energy barriers extend in the form of threads and wrap around everything in Tanavol. So not only can Valtheim not touch the central and Creation realms, she has difficulty moving about Tanavol in general. Basically, it means we're not going anywhere until we can re-attune the Death realm's portal to take us there."

"Ahhhkekekeke!!! And now we get back into the circle of why we have no progress!" Nautilankt said.

Axiom sighed angrily.

"We came here because the Death realm doesn't have an Avatar. But it has you, Nautilankt. We allied ourselves with you because we have similar interests and can help each other. But...we haven't made any progress..."

"Of course not. The Warden is here because the Avatar of Death isn't around. While he isn't attacking us, he still has his sentinels moving about. They're protecting Lich-Fire Citadel...the location of the world gateway..."

"By the abyss, I hate this blasted world..." Axiom growled.

"As long as we don't have access to the gateway, we can't set the destination to the central realm. Without that, we're sitting ducks. At the very least, we have plenty of time. Thankfully, I don't think Mizik is after us right now," Jack said.

"Oh, really? You have no idea how bad the situation really is, do you?" Axiom said.

"I'm afraid I don't...?" Jack said.

"A member of Mizik's crew...the guy who goes by Aldaril. You heard of him?"

"I know of him. He's some kind of lich, right?"

"Precisely. And since Mizik is here and all, do you know what the significance of Aldaril is-"

"HOLD ON A SECOND!!!" Nautilankt suddenly shouted.

Axiom looked at him and noticed something odd.

Nautilankt seemed nervous.

"You keep talking about someone named Mizik... That can't be coincidence. Are you speaking of..."

"Mizik Iratus, the Destroyer of worlds, yes. He's currently in the Peace realm, so I would very much like to get moving before he comes after us," Axiom said.

"Th-the...Destroyer is on Tanavol...?" Nautilankt said.

"I thought that was obvious, Nautilankt."

Nautilankt dropped his trident and stood up. Fear crept over his face.

"I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!! THE DESTROYER ISN'T SOMEONE WE CAN BEAT!!!"

"SILENCE, YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!!! WE KNOW THAT!!!" Axiom screamed.

"I won't do it. I won't fight him! Not...HIM...of all people... You can't make me!!!" Nautilankt said.

"We have no intention of fighting him if we can help it. But his arrival in the Death realm is only a matter of time. Besides...as I was saying before, this realm is missing its Avatar. That Avatar fled to another world hundreds of years ago...and his name is Aldaril. That member of Mizik's crew is the Avatar of Death. The man they consider to be one of the most fearsome killers Tanavol has ever seen," Axiom said.

"So...what's the plan?" Valak said.

"Eris is the plan. She wants to fight Mizik, right? We let her do just that...and maybe she'll ally herself with us in the process if we help her..."

"Eris will kill you on sight if you threaten Mizik. He's her kill. Not ours," Jack said.

"Yeah...good point. I suppose we can just leave her alone, then. Eris already plans to go after him, anyway. We can either help her, or let the girl figure it out on her own. While she's killing Mizik, we can swoop in, steal the Elder Core, and leave. Once the Elder Core is off of Tanavol, taking the Eyes should be simple. Good idea, yeah?" Axiom said.

"Hm...I suppose it could work. But you're forgetting something..." Jack said with a hint of annoyance.

"The Warden! Eris fighting the Destroyer is good, but how does that help US!?" Nautilankt said.

Just then, an eye opened nearby.

Valtheim appeared and so did a woman wearing a black dress decorated with accents of purple. 

On her back, a pair of black dragon wings flared out. And on her head, a pair of horns the same color.

Her hair was black with purple streaks and her eyes glowed with the power of Corruption.

Axiom smiled. Not only was she the most beautiful woman he had ever seen...but also the most powerful. 

Other than Valtheim, that is.

"Greetings, morsels," the woman said on a seductive voice.

"Who the hell..." Jack said.

"Kelvastiol. I knew you had changed, but this is quite something..." Axiom said.

She smiled. For the first time, her smile wasn't absolutely terrifying. 

"I was told that those delectable hors d'oeuvres had arrived on Tanavol..." Kelvastiol said.

"She's still obsessed with eating people? That's both kinky and terrifying..." Valak said.

Kelvastiol shot him a look and licked her lips.

"Don't tempt me, small one. I was denied that delicious body of yours once. I won't hesitate to devour you whole if the mood strikes me," Kelvastiol said.

"Lady Kelvastiol, how nice of you to join us. Now that I think about it...I have a job you look perfect for," Axiom said.

"Very well, Axiom. Point me in a direction and I will obliterate all in our path."

"Oh...I know you will..."